The Philadelphia Eagles had several key players they were resigned to lose in free agency because the price, quite frankly, just got too damn high.
Most of those players were at positions where it’s easy to see why the Eagles were not going to lose too much sleep over them leaving.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams got $104 million from the New England Patriots, but NFL All-Pro Jalen Carter is the alpha dog at that spot. Veteran defensive back Darius Slay left for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were already 2 of the NFL’s best in 2024.
Losing edge rusher Josh Sweat might actually sting a little bit.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on March 10 that Sweat was leaving for a 4-year, $76.4 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, where he’ll be reunited with former Eagles defensive coordinator and current Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon. Sweat’s deal includes $41 million in guaranteed money
Sweat was nothing short of brilliant in a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on February 9 in which he very well could have been named Super Bowl MVP with 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 TFL and 3 QB hits.
From Next Gen Stats: “Josh Sweat generated a team-high six pressures on 34 pass rushes in Super Bowl LIX, including a career-high 2.5 sacks. Sweat registered four of his six pressures on early downs including every one of his sacks.”
Cardinals Long-Rumored Destination for Sweat
Bleacher Report had Sweat projected to receive a 4-year, $82 million contract with the Cardinals after Sweat played for Gannon in 2021 and 2022 — including a Super Bowl appearance in the latter.
Sweat played with the Eagles in 2024 on a 1-year, $10 million contract.
“The Arizona Cardinals have needed a high-end edge-rusher to anchor the pass rush for years,” Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport wrote on February 15. ” … this is a position that has dogged the Cardinals for a long time — long enough that finally addressing it with an excellent two-way edge in the prime of his career is worth writing that whopper of a check.”
The Cardinals were in a great place to land a player like Sweat with a projected $71.3 million in salary cap space. Gannon is also likely coaching for his job in 2025 after going 12-22 over his first 2 seasons. It’s a tenure that started when the Eagles found out the Cardinals had illegally tampered with Gannon and the 2 sides had been in contact in the week leading up to their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs following the 2022 season.
Eagles Bet Against Sweat in 2024 Free Agency
The Eagles paid big for a free agent edge rusher in 2024, where they gave Bryce Huff a 3-year, $51.1 million free agent contract — essentially picking him over Sweat.
While Huff was a complete bust, Sweat had the best all-around season of his NFL career on the NFL’s No. 1 defense with 41 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 9 TFL and 15 QB hits. Second-year player Jalyx Hunt could likely take Sweat’s spot at edge rusher, but this could all be pointing toward a bigger move in the NFL draft.
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks has the Eagles projected to take University of Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce with the No. 32 overall pick in his latest mock draft on February 27.
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